Episode 31: Dan Attias On Directing Great Television

Let's Shoot! with Pete Chatmon

DGA Award-winning Dan Attias is one of the most accomplished and respected Directors working in television today. You've likely marveled at his creative choices on episodes of "Homeland", "Billions", "The Wire", "The Americans", "The Sopranos", and more. He's also written the book, "Directing Great Television: Inside TV's Golden Age". On this episode, Dan joins Pete to talk about facing the blank page, taking responsibility for being the storyteller, acknowledging the many ways you can approach a story, his guiding principals for each stage of filmmaking and more…
SHOW NOTES:
(00:00:00- 00:06:00) -- Pete’s Intro
(00:06:00- 00:12:35) -- What Makes A Good Story?
(00:12:35- 00:20:30) —The Film That Impacted You & Pushed Your Filmmaking Agenda
(00:20:30- 00:27:45) —The Most Important Question To Ask Yourself
(00:27:45- 00:34:04) —Early Stages, From Acting to AD
(00:34:04- 00:34:59) —“Transitions: A Directors Journey And Motivational Handbook” Promo
(00:34:59- 00:46:00) —Top 3 Takeaways From Being An Assistant Director
(00:46:00- 00:51:15) -- Acknowledging The Many Ways To Approach A Story
(00:51:15- 00:58:50) -- Transitioning To Episodic Directing
(00:58:50- 01:03:50) — Getting Into Comedy Directing
(01:03:50- 01:07:20) — Connection Between Features and Premium Cable
(01:07:20- 01:12:00) — Film vs. Digital Filmmaking
(01:12:00- 01:16:00) — Taking Responsibility For Being The Storyteller
(01:16:00- 01:19:24) — The Gift of Directing
(01:19:24- 01:29:40) — Guiding Principal For Prep, Production, and Post
(01:29:40- 01:33:30) - Lightning Round Questions
(01:33:30- 01:35:02) - Petes Outro
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